


A Work In Progress.

by respoftw



Series: Tumblr Prompts - Hawksilver edition [5]
Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: Angst, Grief, Hopeful Ending, Hurt/Comfort, M/M, Pre-Slash, of the emotional kind
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-05-08
Updated: 2015-05-08
Packaged: 2018-03-29 14:49:07
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,437
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3900262
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/respoftw/pseuds/respoftw
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>The first Clint knew that the kid had survived the mess in Sokovia was when he walked into the medical bay of Avengers HQ to see a remarkably bullet free Pietro running on a treadmill with sensors attached to his scar free chest.</p><p>Once Clint recovered from the shock he pulled on his game face and opened his mouth to quip that he hadn't seen this coming.  Except, before he spoke, his mind caught up to him and pointed out what was wrong with this picture.</p>
            </blockquote>





	A Work In Progress.

**Author's Note:**

> From the following prompt on my tumblr:
> 
> the-fandom-pandemonium said to pietrolovesclint:  
> In response to your one word prompt: "Treadmill" or "Surprisingly Comfortable"

The first Clint knew that the kid had survived the mess in Sokovia was when he walked into the medical bay of Avengers HQ to see a remarkably bullet free Pietro running on a treadmill with sensors attached to his scar free chest.

 

Once Clint recovered from the shock he pulled on his game face and opened his mouth to quip that he hadn't seen _this_ coming. Except, before he spoke, his mind caught up to him and pointed out what was wrong with this picture.

 

Pietro was sweaty and out of breath, struggling to keep up with the running belt. A running belt that was going nowhere near the maximum speed that Clint knew these machines were capable of. He had seen (or not seen as the case may be) Quicksilver run faster than the human eye could recognise during the short time they had known each other, and now a relatively gentle treadmill work out was flooring him. He didn't need to look at the chart Dr Cho was frowning over to know that something was wrong.

 

Knowing full well how much he himself hated people seeing him vulnerable, Clint left the med bay before Pietro could spot him and started for Cap's office. Steve would know what the hell was going on.

 

The nearest anyone could guess is that Pietro's science given abilities had been used up when his body healed itself from the devastating damage it had taken during the fight with Ultron.

 

Clint had watched as Pietro's face shut down when he heard the news. He saw the way a little bit of the light in the kid's eyes had went out, even as Wanda pulled him into a fierce hug, whispering her thanks that he was alive and well.

 

That was the general reaction from the rest of the team. A slap on the back and a “We're glad you're OK. It's a miracle.”

 

Clint knew better. He seemed to be the only one who realised that Pietro was _not_ OK. Which put him in a strange situation. The kid clearly needed someone to talk to but, given their past interactions had involved snarking and violence, Clint was pretty sure he wasn't the guy for the job. Not to mention the fact that it had been Pietro saving _his_ life that had got him into this situation.

 

So Clint kept quiet, he watched. It was what he was good at after all.

 

Pietro still ran. Every night, long after the others had gone to bed, Clint watched as the kid pushed himself to the limit in the gym, chest heaving, legs pumping as he frantically increased the speed on the treadmills. It was never enough. The running sessions generally ended with things being thrown and Sokovian curses being spat into the silence as the frustration at living a life at normal speed spilled out.

 

It wasn't just the lack of speed. The kid had withdrawn, he was quiet and listless. Everyone was so glad to see him alive that they didn't seem to notice that he was barely living.

 

Clint was watching the nightly ritual. It had been a month since Pietro had woken up from the healing coma his powers had apparently put him in. A month that probably seemed like a decade for someone who was used to going at the speed Quicksilver could reach.

 

From his place in the rafters, Clint hears the familiar muffled curse and settles in to watch the anger and destruction portion of the evening. If you asked him why he watched Pietro every night he wouldn't have been able to tell you but as he heard the first sob pour out of the kid, as he saw Pietro crumple to the ground, he knew that this is what he had been waiting for.

 

That moment when the reality of the situation, the realisation that this isn't a temporary blip that he can fix by training hard, sunk in. Because Clint knows that someone needed to be there for Pietro when that happened. Apparently that someone is him.

 

He drops silently down from his perch and moves over to wrap his arms around a shaking Pietro.

 

Pietro doesn't even lift his head to see who's there, he just clings to Clint's embrace, taking the comfort that he needs, not caring who it's from.

 

They stay like that for a long time.

 

Sitting on the floor of the gym. Clint offering murmuring comfort as he rocks and pets a grieving Pietro.

 

The sobs finally trail off and Clint tenses, waiting for the inevitable anger that Clint had seen him like this. It doesn't come, if anything Pietro pulls Clint closer.

 

“You OK, kid?” Clint cringes as he even asks the question. Of course the kid isn't OK. He's known that for the past month.

 

Pietro's voice answers, raw with emotion but still clear and strong.

 

“Surprisingly comfortable, actually.”

 

Clint snorts in amusement. It's the first joke he's heard from the previously cocky, wise cracking man since Sokovia. It amazes Clint just how relieved he is to hear it.

 

“You're better than a teddy bear.” Pietro murmurs against Clint's neck, still clinging on fiercely to the archer.

 

“Got a lot of teddy bears, do you?” Clint teased.

 

“Not since the bombs. Everything got destroyed. I stole Wanda one when we got rescued but...I was too old by then.”

 

Clint's chest pangs as he imagines what life after the war must have been like for the twins.

 

“You would only have been ten.”

 

Pietro sighs as he rubs his face against Clint's shirt, his voice hollow as he replies. “I felt older.”

 

Clint doesn't know what to say. He's not good at this kind of thing. He's not what Pietro needs right now. But he's all there is at the moment. He just hopes he doesn't fuck this up.

 

“You know...the kid you saved..the _people_ you saved in Sokovia? They're never gonna know what it was like for you and Wanda. Yeah, their homes and _things_ might have been destroyed but that kid is safe with his family. They don't ever need to know the pain of going on when you've lost something that important to you. And that's down to you. Down to your sacrifice.”

 

Pietro moves away from him and Clint is terrified he's said the wrong thing but Pietro just looks at him.

 

“But I didn't sacrifice anything. Didn't you hear? I'm alive and it's a miracle.”

 

“Just because you're not dead doesn't mean you didn't lose something.”

 

Pietro nods absently, looking stunned that someone finally gets it. It emboldens Clint.

 

“Loki didn't kill me. He didn't even hurt me really, just controlled me. I know it's not the same as what you're dealing with. I got my mind back but it still feels like he took something from me. Something that I had to learn to live without.”

 

Pietro is shaking his head now. “No. No. It's not the same. You still help people. You're an _Avenger_. I'm nothing. Just a human.” He spat the last out as if it were a dirty word.

 

It stared to click into place for Clint now. It wasn't the loss of his powers that Pietro was mourning. It was that he felt like he had lost the ability to help people. It must have been killing him to watch his sister take up her role with the Avengers while he hadn't even been invited to join.

 

“Hey, just because you don't run fast anymore doesn't mean that you can't help people. Look at Stark. Look at Rhodey, Sam. Look at me.”

 

Pietro smiles sadly. “You gonna teach me to shoot arrows, old man?”

 

Clint reaches out and grips Pietro's face gently, thumb rubbing at the kid's unshaven jaw, noticing the way that Pietro's eyes flick to his lips.

 

“I'll teach you anything you want. You've always been more than a fast runner. You can still help people.”

 

“You didn't even know me before.”

 

“I know that you kept Wanda alive. I know that a ten year old kid stepped up and got a teddy bear to comfort his sister. That sounds like a hero to me.”

 

“Did you forget the part where I stole the bear?”

 

Clint smiles. “Well, you're a work in progress.”

 

The laugh that startles from Pietro is the best sound that Clint had heard in a while. He knows that Pietro isn't going to recover overnight. He has a long road ahead of him. Clint makes a promise to himself that he'll be there every step of the way.

 

**Author's Note:**

> Come say hi on [tumblr](http://pietrolovesclint.tumblr.com)
> 
> Russian translation available: [here](https://ficbook.net/readfic/3437166)


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